Parks tracking CPR grain spills

Parks Canada is investigating whether Canadian Pacific Railway's commitment to fix leaky grain cars will lead to a reduction in the amount of spilled grain that lures wildlife to their deaths on the tracks.

Already this spring, a train has killed a large black bear that was feasting on grain along tracks 500 metres west of the Natural Bridge in Yoho National Park, on April 22.

The federal agency has set up 14 monitoring sites along the railway from the east gate of Banff National Park to the western gate in Yoho National Park to keep close tabs on the amount of spilled grain.

Parks officials say the aim of the project is to quantify how much grain rail cars leave on the tracks and assess changes in grain deposits after the grain cars are fixed.

"We're monitoring sites and hoping to measure the relative abundance of grain along the tracks, and whether that declines over time," said Bill Hunt, chief park warden for Lake Louise, Yoho and Kootenay.

"We will have some pre-data and post-data to see if there's any difference in grain deposition."

Up to 40 trains a day travel from the prairies to west coast grain terminals, with many defective hopper cars leaving a trail of grain in their wake, which in turn lures bears to the tracks.

The railway giant plans to repair approximately 6,300 defective hopper cars in the next four years as part of a commitment to reduce the amount of grain spilled on the tracks. They say close to 1,600 have already been fixed.

Trains have killed seven grizzly bears - three of them reproducing females - on the Canadian Pacific Railway since 2000. None of the five cubs that were orphaned as a result survived to adulthood.

The number of known black bear deaths is five since 2006. Grain is thought to have played a role in most of these deaths.

Parks Canada officials have confirmed the large male black bear that was killed on

April 22 in Yoho was feeding on grain.

Hunt said grain, and signs of the bear's foraging activity in the ballast, were observed on the tracks. A necropsy the following day found there was grain in the animal's stomach.

"We're very disappointed to be starting off the year this way," said Hunt.

"We're working with CP to deal with food attractions on the tracks."

Parks Canada did ask Canadian Pacific to bring out its vacuum truck to the area. However, given widespread grain and the vacuum's difficultly in removing wet or frozen grain kernels, there is concern the truck won't make much difference right now.

Bears, emerging from a long winter's hibernation, will likely be attracted to the grain spilled along the rail line in their search for food, given few other options exist due to the late arrival of spring.

Jim Pissot, executive director of Defenders of Wildlife Canada, said he is "very disheartened" by the news of yet another bear's demise along the train tracks in the mountain parks.

"It's what I have come to expect when bears emerge form hibernation. Bears are accustomed to finding food on the tracks and this will not be corrected until CP ensures that no grain is spilled - and they are far from that," he said.

"I'm becoming as fearful for black bears as I am for grizzlies. I don't want to discount black bears just because grizzlies are more threatened, but even though black bears are more common, they shouldn't just be shoved under the rug."

Last year, the federal government decided to retain ownership of its federal fleet of hopper cars, but Canadian Pacific Railway agreed to a $20 million extensive hopper car inspection and refurbishment program as part of its operating agreement.

The idea is new replacement gates on the hopper cars would be technologically superior to the existing gates, thus reducing the amount of grain spilled along the train tracks.

Breanne Feigel, a spokesperson for Canadian Pacific Railway, said as of

April 30, work on 1,600 of the 6,300 cars was completed.

"Work was underway last fall and we are well ahead of schedule," she said.

Feigel said the company also uses the vacuum truck, works with grain shippers, participates in workshops with Parks Canada, notifies crews when bears are coming out of hibernation, blows whistles and flashes light to scare wildlife off the tracks.

"Our company continues to try to do what it can realistically to reduce any contact with bears, and we are doing any more than any other railway in North America," she said.

"We are being a responsible carrier of grain through the parks and continue to look at a variety of opportunities to reduce wildlife attractants. Sadly, this case involved a bear contacting a train."